1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to golf clubs. More specifically, the invention is an improved golf club for performing chip-shots or hitting a golf ball onto the putting surface or xe2x80x9cgreenxe2x80x9d from relatively short distances.
2. Description of the Related Art
The United States has seen unprecedented growth in the popularity of the game of golf in the past decades. Numerous devices have been made to help golfers improve their shots. Putters and chippers of various designs and markings, golf club heads of various angles, and shafts of different lengths and angles of attachment to the golf club head have been introduced. However, despite many attempts, no suitable golf club exists for making chip-shots often less than sixty yards long and approximately four to five feet off the ground. This includes, for example xe2x80x9cbump and runxe2x80x9d shots. All golfers agree that ninety percent of the game of golf is mental. The other ten percent is primarily physical aptitude including some measure of athleticism.
For the purpose of moving a golf ball from the tee to the green and ultimately into the hole, a golfer is permitted thirteen clubs. Woods (also xe2x80x9cmetal woodsxe2x80x9d) are available to project the golf ball the greatest distance. The club head is usually quite large by comparison and has very little loft (typically eight to thirteen degrees). Iron headed clubs (xe2x80x9cironsxe2x80x9d) are clubs having varying degrees of loft and various shaft lengths. Because of the various club""s loft, irons properly used will propel a golf ball forward to various distances and at varying heights above the ground. Wedges (iron headed clubs with significant loftxe2x80x94up to sixty degrees) are available for short shots into the green. Putters are usually iron headed clubs used to roll a golf ball along the putting surface (green) and into the hole. Putters generally have a ball striking surface (loft) of almost ninety degrees. Providing a golfer with a variety of clubs enables the golfer to take the xe2x80x9csame swingxe2x80x9d with each club, but get different results in ball flight path and distance. Golf clubs which do not fall within the xe2x80x9csame swingxe2x80x9d category are wedge and putter clubs.
Using the same swing with a wedge or a putter will result in the same distant and trajectory result. The xe2x80x9cfinessexe2x80x9d shot (which involves altering the swing speed, back-swing distance, downward club-head speed, and the golfer""s body attitude) enables the golfer to propel the golf ball to varying distances. For most golfers, over fifty percent of the shots advanced toward or into the hole are normally within forty yards. Thus, the finesse shot is one of, if not the most important type shot in the game of golf. However, factors such as fright or nervousness, grass height, grass texture, moisture, sand and/or water obstructions contribute to the number of obstacles which serve to raise the level of difficulty for making a finesse shot. It is for these reasons at least the finesse shot is the most difficult shot to master.
Generally, the finesse shot is attempted with the wedge. But this highly lofted short shaft club invites the golfer to impart lateral movement to the club""s face by turning the wrist on impact thereby producing an off-line shot. The easiest shot in golf is the putt. This shot is performed with the use of a putter which does not require turning or breaking the wrist of a golfer as with the use of the wedge. As a result, off-line shots are minimized.
The golf club as herein described alleviates the longstanding need for a golf club which integrates the most definitive features of each conventional type of club cited hereinbelow (e.g. wood, iron, wedge and putter) into a singular hybrid club which solves the problems associated with each conventional club and improves the game of golf for golf enthusiasts and professionals within roughly sixty yards of the hole or from the xe2x80x9croughxe2x80x9d onto the xe2x80x9cgreenxe2x80x9d without the need for extensive practice.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,556, issued to Condon, shows a multi-functional golf club head which can be used as either a putter or a chipper, depending on the nature of the terrain on the golf course, having ball centering indicia on the top face, rails on the bottom of the club head, and an angled striking surface. However, this device does not have the optical assisting pattern of the present invention, which is specially designed to maximize a golfer""s eye""s focus and project a broad-based target line-up to make it easier for the golfer to keep the swing line of the club head on track with the intended path of the ball. U.S. Design Pat. No. 213,326, issued to Driscoll, discloses the ornamental design for golf club head. U.S. Design Pat. No. 225,419, issued to Mills, shows an ornamental design for an golf club. U.S. Design Pat. No. 394,688 also illustrates an ornamental design for a golf club head. And U.S. Design Pat. No. 405,137 shows the ornamental design for a golf putter head.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,335, issued to Hattori, reveals a combined putter and wedge golf club having both putting and chipping faces on either side of the club head, which is connected to a shaft rigidly mounted perpendicular to the club, in comparison to the present invention where the angle between the line defined by the shaft, when the putter is in normal play position, and the line perpendicular to the ground is six to seven degrees. And U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,728, issued to Pehoski et al., discloses a golf putter head having a striking surface separated from and parallel to body of the head by a spaced portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,666, issued to Lovett, shows a golf club having a striking face which angles down narrowly to form a blunt lower apex. The narrow lower apex of this device allows for less contact with the turf during a golf swing, decreasing turf drag to allow shots of at least 170 yards away. Unlike the present invention, which has a broader bottom wall, this club is not specially designed for shots of sixty or fewer yards, neither does it have optical orientation grooves disposed on the top surface of the golf head to assist s golfer in increasing shot accuracy. U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,082, issued to White, shows a golf chipper club construction in which the club head loft is about 30 degrees, while the descent of the sole is approximately 12 degrees. And the angle from horizontal to the grip axis is 80 degrees. The British Patent granted to McKenzie (BR 219,804) shows a golf club having a streamlined head with a curved taper. The British Patent granted to Miyamoto (BR 1,432,682) provides a club with a rotatable moveable head having a plurality of faces for hitting at different angles. And the European Patent granted to Schmidt (EP 608,128) discloses a golf putter having a recess disposed on the putter head.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a golf club for chipping solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The golf club according to the invention includes a long shaft fixedly attached to a golf club head. The striking face or surface of which has a configuration which gradually narrows downwardly to a rounded bottom edge of the striking face and forms a leading edge of the striking face when a stroke is initiated. A side view of the club shows it to be generally convex in shape. The leading edge of the striking face is also slightly superior to the turf-contacting surface by about an eighth of an inch. The bottom edge of the striking front surface converges for a short ways downwards to form a relatively convex bottom surface. A side extends rearwardly and upwardly from the bottom surface of the club head to meet the top surface of the golf club extending rearwardly from the front striking surface. The club is fitted with a long shaft which forces the golfer into an upright xe2x80x9ceyes over the ballxe2x80x9d position which creates a chipping stroke similar to a normal putting stroke.
The convex top surface of the golf club head has a series of parallel grooves incorporated into the top surface thereof and normal to the top edge of the striking surface. These grooves are colored either orange or white to form an optical pattern to help the golfer""s eyes focus and to project a more broad-based target line-up so as to make it easier for the golfer to keep the swing line of the club head, on track with the intended path of the ball. These ball centering grooves are designed to assist the golfer in aligning the golf ball with the target and the best striking area of the club head.
Another distinguishing feature of the club is that the front-to-rear surface profile reveals a rounded, convex sole plate mesial to the shaft, making the distal floor plate line angle more angular so as to reduce interference of the club head along the hinge axis at the head of the club. When positioned for play, the angle of the shaft to a line normal to the ground is six to seven degrees. The club integrates or melds certain characteristics of the wood, iron, wedge and putter into a single club.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved golf club which allows a golfer to make better chip shots, even when the golfer is not standing on the green.
It is another object of the invention to provide a golf club having ball centering channels or grooves having a plurality of pigment layers thereon to assist the golfer in aligning the golf ball with the target to improve shot accuracy.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a golf club which is suitable for chip shots onto a green to shots of up to 60 yards.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a golf club configured particularly for finesse shots or for providing greater control of the flight of the ball by the golfer.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.